Contributor: Meghan Vestal. Lesson ID: 11133
The rock cycle is a very slow process, but it produces everything from dust and pebbles to mountains and valleys! Learn the good and bad results of erosion as you grow some plants and eat a carrot!
In this series, you have learned about weathering, erosion, and deposition.
In the previous Related Lessons, found in the right-hand sidebar, you have learned about weathering, erosion, and deposition as separate parts.
Today, you will see how these processes function as a cycle and examine their purpose in creation. Before you get started, review the terms "weathering," "erosion," and "deposition" with a teacher or parent.
To review what you have already learned about weathering, erosion, and deposition, and to see how they work together, watch Oxford Education's How do glaciers shape the landscape? Animation from geog. 1 Kerboodle (following the questions below).
As you watch the video, answer the following questions on a separate piece of paper:
When the video is finished, review your responses with a teacher or parent.
Weathering, erosion, and deposition play an important role in the rock cycle. If you are unfamiliar with the rock cycle, watch the StudyJams! video clip about The Rock Cycle, and review the Elephango lesson found under Additional Resources in the right-hand sidebar. As you review the rock cycle, answer the following questions on a separate piece of paper:
When you are finished, review your responses with a teacher or parent.
The rock cycle could not occur, and new rocks would be unable to form, without weathering, erosion, and deposition. For example, weathering, erosion, and deposition are all essential in the creation of sedimentary rocks. Weathering breaks rocks and minerals into small sediments. Erosion moves these sediments to a new location, where they are deposited. These sediments can sit for hundreds of years, binding together to create sedimentary rocks.
Discuss your ideas with a teacher or parent, then carry on to the Got It? section to diagram what you've learned.